Cydia

The news out of Canada tonight suggests the extinction of Apple's exclusive carrier contracts has never been closer to US borders. The latest example? Apple Insider is reporting that two new carriers in Canada will now offer the handset.

Citing sources within both companies, The Globe and Mail reported that Bell Canada and Telus Corp. will begin selling the iPhone in November, bringing the previously exclusive contract held by Rogers Communications for more than a year to an end.

This development out of Canada is rehashing speculation about whether Apple will stay with AT&T or include other carriers after the their exclusive deal expires next year. Many agree with the projections put out by Morgan Stanley's Kathryn Huberty, an analyst who recently articulated that Apple's handset market share in the U.S. could double if, for example, it brought the likes of a Verizon Wireless into the fold.

But even as the dominoes continue to fall on exclusivity, neither Apple or AT&T will speak a word as to whether the current exclusivity carrier agreement will stay in place beyond 2010.

The news comes just weeks after both Vodafone and Orange announced they will carry the iPhone in the U.K. in the coming months. Until now, Apple's smartphone has been exclusive to O2 in Great Britain.

As we know, Apple recently signed a three-year deal with China Unicom to sell the handset in Asia's largest mobile community.
But even in China there will be no such thing as exclusivity with the iPhone.

The iPhone went on sale in the country [China] on Oct. 1. Now, Apple has turned its attention to competitor China Mobile, the world's largest wireless carrier.

As Europe, Asia, and North America all usher in the era of non-exclusive carrier agreements with the iPhone, how could it be anything but just a matter of time before the same transpires in the US?